During the 1920s, Austin
Campbell, a Toronto lawyer
who resided in the Village of
Newcastle, Ontario began
filming people, places and
various things. In May,
1940, another Newcastle
resident, Cecil Carveth
purchased Campbell’s Kodak
Model B movie camera, his

Keystone A-82 projector and
obtained some of the old 16
mm films. Mr. Carveth was
often seen carrying the
camera and used it
extensively in the area until
his death in 1977. Mr.
Carveth attended local
schools, showing the films to
students and also to various

clubs and groups in the
community.
There were 32 film reels
and after Mr. Carveth died,
the film collection was given
to Jack Gordon, a Newcastle
history buff and member of
the Newcastle Village &
District Historical Society
(NVDHS). These films were

sent to the National Film
Board in Ottawa and were
copied there. In 2008, Mr.
Gordon donated the original
films to the NVDHS. Over the
next two years, several
members transferred all of
the films to digital.
One of the common themes
in the films was that Mr.